How the idea of “My Green Nappy” came to be.

A Series of Light Bulb Moments…

I had just launched my ‘Part Time Nappy Free’ website, a fun intro to elimination communication, or ‘EC’. One of the articles I had written for members was called “How Green is Your Nappy?” which talked about mitigating climate change with little steps, and outlined a dozen greener choices available in nappying. – I had really enjoyed writing that article as the Environment is a big motivator for me (us) in using cloth and practicing EC to reduce our environmental footprint.

The 3 ‘Enviro R’s’…

I’d been researching and developing the ideas on the pages about the 3 ‘Enviro’ R’s, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, and global warming, and had found the inspiring quote on Green Promise:

“Every change, no matter how seemingly insignificant, becomes a catalyst for more change. Your path to green is not a race. It is a journey.” – Green Promise

Thinking about an ‘Environmental Policy’…

I’d been developing an ‘Environmental Policy’ for the part-time EC sites, seeing all the cool things that are being done, could be done, so more ideas there…

Thinking about how using cloth reduces waste…

As my focus was REDUCING with EC – reducing our need for nappies, our production of waste, reducing the disposables we used, then switching to the wonderful ‘Moltex’ Eco-nappies for our ‘disposable’ needs, which involved digging a ‘nappy trench’ and burying them. Using cloth was and is high on the list of reducing our footprint… so the ideas were milling around in my mind, mixing, mixing, forming…

“I’ve got just one cloth nappy”…

Shortly after I was at our ABA Christmas Party with Jett in some Green EcaPants, talking to some other Mums about cloth options and how they’d found it hard to find them. One lady had ‘Just One’ modern cloth fitted nappy that she used over and over. As I had been recently refining a page on my EC site about Easing into EC by using “Just One Less Nappy at a time”, this idea stuck in my head and I started jotting down ideas in a new ideas book. I’ve actually heard that comment a number of times – so it stuck!

Filling a new ideas book really fast…

We’ve been scribbling our ideas down in these books since we started going out in the year 2000! Great for long interstate car trips – of which we do lots. Within 2 weeks I had filled an entire 96 page book totally to plan out this site concept. Amazing what you can do scratching away in the car, in the early hours, while breastfeeding, while relaxing in the backyard with two small children… (I’m actually on Book #5 at the moment!)

Initiatives inspiring this concept…

I totally love the idea behind 1% For The Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. I’d also found the Great Cloth Nappy Hunt a fun way to learn about the types of natural parenting shops out there by offering prizes to hunters.

The idea of reducing waste, gradually, one nappy at a time is powerfully simple – anyone can do that with a minimal investment. In fact, it is an investment that will save money.

Why not combine all these inspirations into a collaborative network of largely WAHM businesses sharing a concern for the Earth – as I know that is a common motivator for the Mums making nappies.

Virtually every expectant Mum I know reflects these same concerns, and wants information. As My Green Nappy is beginning as a hobby website, we’ll be unable to join the 1% network, yet we can still donate to the Earth in other ways – such as through the ‘100 Green Promise Nappies’ initiative.

We’ll be starting small…which brings us back to this Green Promise quote:

“Every change, no matter how seemingly insignificant, becomes a catalyst for more change. Your path to green is not a race. It is a journey.” – Green Promise

How could I help? …

I thought, how could I help? I like to write and put together these mini-guides, so it was quite fun for me to plan out one for this site, helping people learn about the concepts in small, easily digestible chunks of information over a sequence of emails that they then have permanent access to as a member, as the guide is digital it will be updated with new ideas. I could help people get introduced to cloth in a unique way, offering them a hub where they can explore all the shops in the nappy business, while discovering tidbits about cloth and the environment. Having an ongoing, seasonal chance to win some of the nappies of our sponsors is a bonus that is tied to the turning of the Earth. That helps members, our partners and the environment – a tick for all!

Just one cloth nappy…

I thought by encouraging people to buy just one, with an environmental focus behind it, could be a contagious idea and a way of networking cloth nappy websites together in a kind of environmental collective. I could then write, contact, blog and promote to draw visitors to the ‘Nappy Style Windows’ and other unique resources, and then new potential customers to their stores.

My Green Nappy Starts…

I’d start a new ‘hub’ in the cloth nappy world and see where it went. We would collectively share in this unique way of promoting using cloth. We’d be sharing a common goal too – helping the environment by giving away donated nappies, supporting various other environmental initiatives as a direct result of our activities here.

This is how “My Green Nappy” came to be. I wonder where it will lead. I hope it does some good, keeping more disposables out of landfill, again and again… as that is a good thing.

Happy Greener Days,

Charndra

I’ve got My Green Nappy. Have you?

Disclosure:

My Green Nappy does not sell any nappies. It is a modern cloth and eco-friendly disposable nappy advocacy site.

It’s a place for shops who offer Modern Cloth Nappies to be introduced to you, to ‘showcase’ their products for you. Sponsors pay a small annual fee to appear as a Partner or a Sponsor of My Nappy Style Windows. (That’s how I fund the website.) For the first 3 months everyone is on here with my compliments – I am subsidizing the launch, in the hopes more will join to support the simple initiative that is My Green Nappy!

Any shop who sells cloth nappies or eco-disposables is welcome to become a Sponsor, and you’ll see both specialist and general shops are helping support My Green Nappy.

Our sponsors are working together to promote the broader goal of reducing the sheer number of disposable nappies going into landfill.

Advertising Banners:

There will never be flashing banners on My Green Nappy! All banners rotate on each new page view.

My Green Nappy is supported by these sites. I thank them for their generous support and am pleased to introduce you to each of these family-friendly sites.

Clicking on their banners will open a new window so you can visit their shop yet still keep your location open here.

All sponsors are equally represented in banners:

– The top wide banner and top vertical banner are exclusively for sponsors who offer you modern cloth nappies or eco-friendly disposable nappies.

– The wide banner above the footer area is more general – yet will only feature family friendly sites related to babies, mothers, pregnancy, toddlers, kids and families in general, as well as eco-conscious sites.

– Within My Nappy Style Windows you will see up to 4 invited sites represented as sponsors of the individual window.

The 100 Green Promise Nappies Initiative is a way ANY family friendly site can support My Green Nappy. You will meet the sponsor of each nappy by clicking on it, and to enter to win each nappy, you are required to visit their site for a look-ee around; a nice reason to discover some new sites!